Catching the Wind
by Cecil Kain Cerberus
Summary: In the past, he was a king consumed by a mad hero. In the present, he is a college student with a dangerous knack for adventure. Dark games are being played, and the cast has been set. His trials have only begun, yet still, he pursues the uncatchable. OT4: Kiefer/Sion/Ryner/Ferris
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: I got into Legend of the Legendary Heroes some time ago, mostly because of Sion. I only watched the first episode, but I liked it. However, I got distracted with a bunch of other things, and forgot completely about it. Now with the anime going on Blu-ray this week, my fire was rekindled and watched the whole thing in Japanese on Youtube. I also started looking for the light novels, and I found a good site, although they need to update the stuff, 'cause I wanna read it.**

**This fanfic is, in a sense, a sequel to the anime, and what little I know of the light novels. It's called Catching the Wind for a reason. ;) Also, I realize that the first chapter is confusing. This is just setting the stage for later events, which will mostly take part in present day. The past will always be italics, and before present day story. They'll be mostly monologues, addressing different characters at different times. I never say the names of the characters, so that's left up to you, the reader. Enjoy.**

* * *

_The Past: Centuries Ago_

_Rushing water. Staring out at the plains that rolled and waved in graceful shapes around him, he listened to the streams running past his steed. Heavy hoofs clipped down into the ground, snorts emitting from the beast's white nostrils as it sprinted through the valley. The scenery was all the same around him, yet he could not stop, could not halter._

_He must press forward._

_The once beautiful blue sky that hailed over him had now turned a darkening gray, swirls of bubbling sky borne fog boiling underneath the belly of the storm. He did not turn his gaze from the front, neither to the ominous sky nor to the left and right of him. The shadows that stretched out from the few lone trees reached out to his steed with long fingers, the dead bark twisted into scowls as they glared with hatred at him._

_Him, a monster._

_A true monster. He, not born into a doomed fate, not made into a freak by the military, yet willingly choose his hand, willingly torched his soul._

_Opening a door he ought not had opened._

_As he pressed forward, memories of the past haunted him. His friend. His betrayal. The wars he started. The people he harmed. He wished that the clock could be reset, that everything can be erased._

_After all, all he wanted was peace. But that dream was a fantasy, something that could never be._

_Fate, it seemed, had a different idea in store for him._

* * *

_Present Day - May 05, 2011 - 3:03 a.m._

Running until his lungs burned, he dared not look behind him. Facing forward, his legs trembling from sheer exhaustion, his muscles begging for rest, he continued forward, pressing on through the greenery around him.

He faintly heard dogs barking savagely behind him. But he couldn't catch to see. To turn his head, to divert his attention for just a few seconds, would be suicide.

The highway was getting close. He could hear the cars whizzing by at 70 miles per hour. He knew his friend would be waiting for him by the side of the road, the forest disrupted abruptly for the black asphalt of the road.

More barking, and then a gunshot. A voice called out, telling him to stop. But he did not heed the voice, just continuing running, and running . . .

His lungs were burning. He tasted metal in his mouth. His tongue was dry, and his ears pounded with every leap he took. His feet pained him, his vision distorting slightly, waning in and out of focus. He could not keep this up for much longer. He had to reach the highway. He just had to.

And then, just when he was about ready to give up, to fall over and let the dogs pounce on his weak body, he saw a flicker of light. It waved back and forth, like a candle dancing in the wind.

Joy overtook his fatigued heart, and with the last of his strength, he sprinted, sprinted like no other to that beautiful, loving light.

The trees halted suddenly, and there was grass. Standing on the grass was a kid, no more than nineteen, holding a flashlight. He wear a simple street jacket, khakis, and a baseball cap covering black hair, and he continued to stand in that spot as the lone runner came up to him.

Panting, out of breath, and beyond the comprehension of exhaustion, the runner halted, staggering, before his gold eyes fluttered, fainting on the spot. The baseball cap kid caught the runner, who was also the same age as he, wearing only a T-shirt and jeans, his long white hair tied in a braid. Flickering the light off, the baseball kid dragged his comatose friend into the beat-up rusted colored SUV that had been parked on the side of the road.

Positioning his friend in the passenger's seat so he could be seated and buckled comfortably, the baseball kid looked over his shoulder, hearing mad canines howling and snarling. Sighing, he went over to the driver's side, slipped in, and drove off, onto the highway and safety. He could hear his friend's slow, raspy breathing over the car's gurgling rumble of the engine.

His eyes facing forward, night dilating his pupils, he drove onward, towards the bright city lights that lay out before them.

They were nearing home.


	2. Chapter 2

**I'm not much of a romantic, but there are pairings present. Kiefer/Sion/Ryner/Ferris is the main pairing. Some might be more subtle than others.**

**Also, a really important note. The characters in this chapter have a powerful relationship to the canon characters. Their names should be huge hints, and their personalities even bigger ones. ;)**

* * *

_The Past – Centuries Ago_

_He was called a monster ever since he was born._

_Monster, monster. The word sang in his mind every minute of every day, taunting him, cursing him._

_It was like a drug to him, needing it yet feeling the pain it inflicted on him every time he used it._

_It wasn't his choice to be this way. He didn't choose this life._

_And yet here was he, living it out as if nothing else matters._

_He's a monster. A cold-blooded monster._

_You can say he sort of accepted that now, after years of running away from it._

* * *

_Present – August 23__th__, 2010 - 12:10a.m._

In all honesty, he was in complete bliss. He wasn't dreaming, but that didn't bother him, since all his dreams borderlined between just weird and disturbing.

So when he suddenly felt a book thump on his head from above, you could guess he was beyond pissed.

"Ryan."

His name uttered with a hint of annoyance by someone, Ryan moaned, moving his head a bit, ignoring whoever was calling. He kinda hoped the voice would go away and let him sleep, but another drop from a textbook made him aware that this voice, nor the book, would go away easily.

"Ryan."

Now the voice was raising in tone, obviously getting more annoyed. Ryan thought with a hint of a smile, _Sorry, no one's at home. Please leave a message after the bleep. Bleep._

Too bad there were no voice messages you could leave for a sleeping person, but even if such a thing existed, Ryan had no doubt in his mind, if this person was who he thought, that voice messages would not be an option.

He heard a sigh, and once more Ryan thought that the pestering was over. Far be it for him to prevent his good friend from missing lecture in class. Ryan personally didn't give a damn over what era what king conquered what land in what battle over what land against what foe. History was such a bore, yet his friend Leon was such a sap for those things. Honestly, the guy needed a serious hobby that didn't involve books—

Speaking of which, guess what landed on his head?

WHAMP!

"Gagh!"

THUMP!

Next thing he knew, Ryan found himself on the ground, looking up the ceiling lazily, the back of his head throbbing, with Leon smirking so arrogantly at him from his seat.

Of course, once Ryan made eye-contact with him, Leon's smile just got more mocking. "Welcome back to the living, Ryan. For a second there, I thought you joined King Sion in the afterlife."

Ryan merely rolled his eyes, muttering, "Haha, very funny. It is to laugh." He then prompted himself up with his elbows, noticing the lack of noise in the atmosphere. "Hey, where did everybody go?"

Leon turned back to his desk, continuing to gather his things. "Class was over fifteen minutes ago."

"Really?" Ryan blinked in surprise. "So you're telling me I slept through an entire class period without once getting interrupted?"

"Pretty much."

Relaxing, Ryan leaned back a little. "Huh. And why don't I get this feeling of accomplishment?"

"Because Trevor got a chance to shot spitballs at your head, the professor ended up giving a five minute lecture over lazy students and their effect on the environment, and Erin is probably waiting at the bus stop, ready to smash your head through a wall."

"Ah!" Jumping up, Ryan snatched his things, which had fallen all over the place since his fall. "Why didn't you wake me up soon?"

Amused, Leon rested his chin on his hand, smirking. "Because you're so cute when you sleep. I was honestly torn whether to wake you or not."

Ryan snorted ruefully. "Yeah right! You just can't wait to see my face imprinted on a wall."

Leon chuckled. "Well, there's that, too."

Ryan threw up his hands. "Ugh! Idiot! At least you can help!"

Leon slipped out of his chair and picked up the book he had so kindly dropped on Ryan's head. "There, I helped."

"That's not helping!" Ryan's movements were becoming more frantic, shoving random things into random spots, crumbling papers and perhaps even tearing book pages.

"You know, panicking is not really something you should do if you're late."

"Not. Helping!"

"I'm just saying—" Leon's words were cut off by Ryan standing up, backpack on, baseball cap secured over his black hair, glaring daggers with his brown eyes. "Seriously, Leon. Help me out here!"

Leon sighed, setting the book in his bag and tossing it over his shoulder. "Fine. I'll help. But you owe me, then."

Ryan waved dismissively. "Yeah, yeah. Whatever. I'll owe you later."

"How 'bout now?" Suddenly, Ryan felt a kiss on his cheek, and Leon was suddenly ahead of him, laughing, his long ponytail fluttering behind him. Turning a bright shade of red, Ryan shouted, "Ooooh! You're in big trouble, you little bastard! You hear me? BIG!"

* * *

Ryan knew he was in trouble the moment he caught sight of Erin.

Tabbing her foot impatiently, her long blond hair waving a bit with each movement, blues narrowed to slits, she truly looked like a cougar waiting to strike on its prey.

And Ryan knew he was on the menu.

Leon gave a low whistle, leaning over and whispering, "She looks pissed."

Ryan returned the whisper with, "Yeah, well, that's because she is."

Leon then asked him in a low tone, "Should we back out now? Before she sees us?"

"Well, well, looks who's late?" The voice that sounded behind them made both guys jump nearly out of their skins. Ryan, instantly recognizing the voice, sighed, "A little late for that," while Leon whirled around, desperately trying to look calm, holding his hands out. "Kate! How've you been?"

Turning his head a bit, Ryan caught the redhead roll her ruby eyes at Leon's attempt to shrug off any hostility. "Buttering me up will not get you out of this mess, Mr. Ashen. Do you have any idea what time it is?"

Leon's smile was weak, pathetic actually. "Umm . . . noon?"

Kate's foot stomped the ground. "Almost half past noon! You realize Erin and I have been waiting here for over twenty minutes for you guys, only to find you two stumbling around like a bunch of geese."

"Was I waddling?" Ryan asked stupidly. That, of course, got a smack on the head for him, added with Kate's angry growl, "You're just lucky I'm in such a good mood today. Otherwise, I would have roasted both your rears."

"Maybe not you, but I certainly will." Next thing Ryan knew, both he and Leon were being dragged by the short hairs by a certain Miss Erin Fern. After being hauled to the bus stop, Erin tossed both of them onto the chairs seated underneath the shelter. Both exchanged a look and gulp as both Erin and Kate situated themselves from the guys' freedom.

Leon leaned forward a bit, trying to act like the diplomatic man that he was. "Now, ladies, let's not get hasty. Ryan and I are late; that's true. But we still have plenty of time to reach the theatre before the movie starts. So please, if we could—" His words, however, were cut short by Erin stabbing her umbrella at the glass casing around them, narrowing missing Leon's silver head.

Leaning forward a bit, she stated in a low tone, "Leon, while I can respect that you are a man more of peace than action, I highly suggest you allow me and Kate to do whatever we please to you until we feel your debt has been paid."

"Our… debt?" Leon looked at Ryan, who looked equally confused.

Kate nodded, then turned to Erin. "So, Erin, how will we deal with these two trouble-makers?"

Erin hummed, putting her hand on her chin, thinking. "Well, Kate, I believe it's obvious that Ryan has corrupted Leon beyond repair."

Kate's hands flew to her face, her ruby eyes wide in mock terror. "No! Say it isn't so!"

Erin nodded grimly, closing her blue eyes with enough drama to hit Hollywood. "I know; it's hard to believe. Our little Leon has been tainted by the Wild Beast! He's hapless now!"

Leon larched forward in his seat, demanding, "Hey, who are you calling hapless?" Kate rushed over to him and cupped his face, crying out, "Oh no! It's true! My beautiful Leon, ruined by the Wild Beast!"

"Hey!" Ryan slammed his hand on the bench. "I already told you, I'm not a wild beast!" Erin's reply back was in the form of the slap of the head, knocking Ryan over.

Hovering over him, Erin then stated, "Wild beasts are not permitted to speak."

Kate then tapped Erin on the shoulder, musing, "I believe I have the perfect thing in mind."

Erin arched an eyebrow. "Oh?"

Neither Leon nor Ryan liked the looks.


	3. Chapter 3

_The Past – Centuries Ago_

_The rain would not stop, no matter how much she wished for it._

_Today was their last day, she knew. The grim looks on her friends' faces told her everything. She didn't want to admit it, but this may be the last thing they ever do together._

_It broke her heart to see him in such a state; sleepless, worn beyond repair, yet still willing to give it all his all._

_All for his friend. His best friend._

_Maybe she was jealous of both of them having such a relationship. Maybe she was angry for the other to have betrayed his own friend. She didn't know._

_And she didn't want to know. She wanted nothing to do with that other man. She just wished for it to go all away._

_But how? How can she wish for such a horrible thing when she herself is guilty? After all, was not all her actions for her sister? Her family? Her friends? Who's to say there's no reasoning behind this madness._

_Who's to say no one here is even sane?_

* * *

_Present – August 23__th__, 2010 - 8:47p.m._

"_In ancient times, kingdoms were ruled solely by royal blood and nobility. However, everything changed when King Sion Astal came to the throne. Born from a lowly peasant woman, he rose up in the ranks as a hero, and when the people of Roland grew so fond of him, it was almost child's play to take the throne from the current king._

"_Still, a vast road was before the king. The kingdom weakened from the short civil war, if such a minor scuffle could be called a thing, and the young monarch had to scramble everything together before neighboring kingdoms took advantage of the confusion._

"_He anointed several people into positions of power, removing most of the nobles in the process. This greatly angered the nobility, as their entitlement ran deep, and their hatred for the Hero King even deeper. But their resistance was soon ended quickly, and quietly to rest. Even so…"_

"Boooo-riiiiing!"

Leon looked up, a frown line forming on his brow and lips, gold eyes glowering ever so slightly. "What is?"

Ryan waved his hand lazily, eyes closed and expression lax. "History. College. Everything. It's so boring. I don't get why you're forcing me into taking these lame classes."

"Because I don't want to see you in bum clothes begging for coins on the street." Leon closed the large textbook and let out a sigh. "Seriously, Ryan, it wouldn't hurt to try to get involved in your studies a little more. At this rate, the dean will kick you out before you even get your Associate's."

Leaning forward a little, Ryan groaned, looking on at Leon, his eyes completely void of emotion. "Yet why I am wasting my time and hard earned money on classes I know I suck at?"

Leon waved a pencil in his face, grinning. "That's why I'm here. History just happens to be my forte. But you know I can't make you learn anything, Ryan. That's your job."

"Ugh, I know. I know." Ryan paused in mid-complaint, shifting in his chair and reaching into his back pocket. Pulling his wallet, he peeked inside and groaned loudly. "Urgh! Erin ate up all my cash! Literally!"

Leon chuckled. "Well, it's as they say. You can't keep dango away from Erin."

Ryan snorted. "Oh, yeah? What about you, Mr. History-boy? How come Kate let you off easy?"

Grinning, Leon rested his head on his palm, elbow leaning on the desk. "Simple. Unlike you, I am a dedicated and loving boyfriend. I keep Kate happy, and when I mess up, I'm quick to apologize."

"You mean quick to blame." Leaning back in the chair, Ryan slouched. "Well, at least that movie didn't suck like I thought it would."

"'_The Hero King_, an epic retelling of King Sion's mighty conquest to save the world from the tyranny of darkness,'" Leon recited, chuckling. Ryan glanced at him, then let loose his own 'hmph.'

"If you ask me, they overdramatized the whole thing. I mean, come on. The history books say the final conflict with the King and that traitor dude was quick and silent." Pausing, he looked up, a slight look of perplexity on his face. "Come to think of it, no one really knows how the final conflict went down."

"All that historians know is that it left both the traitor, Ryner Lute, and the King, Sion Astal, dead." Leon gazed out, his tone lowered. "Not even their bodies could be found."

"Yeah…" Ryan could sense the mood was getting a little too uncomfortable for his tastes; thus, he prepped himself, changing his tone to match a more chirper manner. "But back to the overdramatization; how do those producer dudes even know how the King and everyone else looked like? I mean, come on!" He held out his hands in front of him, his arms outstretched completely, hands cupped and palms pointed to his chest. "That blond chick had boobs the size of a hippo's ass! And the other chick was so damn skinny, it was amazing she could still stand. And what's with the low, evil seductress's act for the booby-lady? And why was the King so bluff and good-looking? Erin and Kate were practically drooling the whole time he was on screen! And Ryner, he looked like the Devil himself! How do they even know—" Ryan stopped, halted by Leon's loud laughter.

"Ryan," Leon breathed, still laughing hard, "you do realize you have the most hysterical expressions when you complain?" His response was Ryan puffing, crossing his arms over his chest as he pouted. Leon, in turn, laughed again.

Shaking his head, Leon looked at the history book set before him. "I'll have to agree with you on your complaints, though. The movie was overdone. That's Hollywood for you. But in either case, photos did not exist at that time. We don't have records on what King Sion looked like, other than what the history books have told us."

"Yeah, well," Ryan waved a finger up in the air, declaring, "Couldn't they have tried writing down what the king and everyone else looked like? Or even painted a picture?"

"They did that, but sometimes the artists' opinions reflect in their art. Like for example," he held out the now opened book to Ryan, a picture of a red demon with glowing eyes inscribed with pentagon symbols held, "this artist honestly believed that Ryner Lute was a demon, and depicted him as such. He also chose to depict the King as some kind of angel." He tabbed the other half of the picture, which had a knight with six angelic wings and a halo over his ivory head. "But in the end, they did some facts straight. Sion Astal was a very young king when he first came into power, and he had silver hair and gold eyes, whilst Ryner was around the same age, black haired with apparently cursed eyes."

"Yeah, yeah." Ryan gave a dismissive wave. "What else is new?"

Leon shook his head. "Anyway, it's getting late. I still need to finish my quota for the night, so why don't you continue reading where I left off?"

Ryan returned a wishful smile. "Or better yet, I can go into blissful sleep and not bore my eyes out with old literature?" His response was to be expected, however, as Leon, without a word, shoved the book rather forcefully into his hands and stood up, walking to the desk with the desktop hooked in. Ryan watched him dully as Leon turned on the computer, before Leon's voice stated;

"I don't hear any learning."

"Of course not," Ryan muttered. "Learning is supposed to be silent." But he still opened the book, gazing at the page where Leon stopped.

"_Even so, there was still another matter to deal with in the kingdom of Roland. Not only quarrels on the inside, but battles on the other side. Small forces of Anti-Roland troops made headway during the third year of Sion's reign. Their true purposes were never truly revealed, but it is often speculated that they were in liege with the noblemen. And also, the Gastark empire was quickly gaining power, having recently conquered the realm of Stohl._

"_While it is speculated as just how they gained so power, militia intellect was perhaps the most prominent. What's more, many countries at the time seemed to be struggling with a genetic illness, called the Alpha Stigma…"_

Ryan paused, blinking. The term seemed oddly familiar to him, yet he could not put his finger on it yet. He continued to read, _"The Alpha Stigma was an eye related illness that seemed to infect the mental stability of its victims, eventually driving them insane. The overall cause of the Stigma is believed to be genetically based; however, the Stigma no longer exists, having mysteriously disappeared along with what historians called magic."_

_Magic? _Ryan scoffed, smirking lightly. _Gee, that's such a kid thing. Who knew history had stuff like this?_

"I had no idea history was so amusing to you, Ryan."

Looking up, an annoyed look on his face, Ryan glowered at Leon, who had turned back to grin at the dark haired man. "Seriously? Don't you have a quota to meet or something?"

Leon shrugged, his grin weakening slightly. "Suffering from writer's block, unfortunately, so I thought I'd check on my best friend."

Ryan looked back down at the textbook. "Unfortunately, I need silence to read. So—"

"Would you at least tell me what's so funny?"

Ryan then grinned, holding up the textbook. "How's this? Magic is real and your mother is a space alien from Mars."

Leon retorted by throwing a pencil at him. "Very funny. Well, your mother comes from deep within the earth, and your father is a dango."

The end result was more objects thrown, some light, some heavy, and some just weird, along with insults and cracks at each other that would probably make a man blush.

However, neither did they know they were being carefully watched.

Turning his head slightly, the man from the other side observed how the two behaved and mused, how similar they were in this life as they were in the past. Perhaps it would be best if he let them be.

However, he noted, things have not yet been set in place. If he should back down, then everyone, not just the king and his son, would be doomed to a fate worse than death.

Turning, trench coat billowing in the wind, he spoke to the air around him.

"Soon. Very soon. It shall all come to pass."


	4. Chapter 4

_The Past – Centuries Ago_

_It was all ridiculous, what they were about to. She had no idea how desperate he was to save his best friend._

_Wasn't it a curse to try to play god? Wasn't trying to reset time impossible?_

_He didn't think so._

_And neither did the King._

_Even now, they were both friends. After the King tried to kill him._

_She couldn't believe it._

_Either way, no matter what happened, she would defend him from the King. Even if it meant going against her brother._

_She would protect him._

* * *

_Present – August 23__th__, 2010 - 8:47p.m._

_"Ryner."_

He hummed, lulled in an ethereal dream. He was hearing voices again.

_"Ryner."_

It wasn't a bad sounding voice, either. Kinda … nice, like an angel.

"Mmm," was all he mumbled into his pillow. No matter how nice the voice sounded, he wanted his sleep now. But whoever the angel was calling to sure was lucky.

_"Ryner."_

_"Oh, for heaven's sake, Sion, he's not getting up. Let me do it."_

_"Uh, Ferris?"_

_"Not now, Kiefer."_

He paused, mid-way through his dream. Sion? Ferris? Kiefer? Had he heard those names before?

"RYAN LANCELOT, YOU WAKE UP THIS INSTANT!"

POW!

"GAAH! THAT FREAKIN' HURT, YOU BITCH!" His response was another prompt boot-to-face maneuver, another scream of pain, finishing with boisterous laughter coming from his so-called best friend.

The only nice person in the room, Kate, actually came to his side and touched his face, where a nice, large bruise was beginning to form in the perfect shape of a boot. "Erin, did you have to kick him so hard?"

Erin harrumphed. "Of course. That's the only way you'll get the perverted slacker out of bed."

"Will you give the whole perverted thing a rest," Ryan moaned. "I will not argue with the slacker part, but perverted, no, I'm not." Looking around, he frowned at Leon, who was still trying to get his bearings after such a laughing fit.

Noticing the leer from his friend, Leon gave a sheepish grin. "What? I tried calling to you earlier. You didn't respond."

"Huh?" Ryan blinked his dark eyes. "Wait, you were calling to me?"

Erin rolled her eyes. "Yes, of course he was calling you. Who else do you think it was?"

Ryan grunted, looking away. He knew a person that sounded like Leon was calling someone, but he didn't think it was him. After all, his name isn't Ryner.

"Anyway, you'd better get dressed. Otherwise, we'll be late," Leon stated calmly.

Ryan arched an eyebrow. "Late for what?"

"What do you think? The festival, of course."

* * *

**Super short amazing cliff-hanger chapter! Had to update. ^^; Sorry folks. It's been hard with school, but I hate to leave fics just sittin' there.**


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